Bill Gates once said that your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. If the same applies to the Home Office staff who have the unenviable job of fielding complaints about their colleagues from irate migrants and their lawyers, t ...

Digital technology plays a central role in the ongoing reform of British borders after Brexit, and the 2019 launch of the EU Settlement Scheme was a pivotal moment in this transformation. The EUSS introduced an online-by-default process to apply for i ...

A student whose leave was cancelled on arrival was wrongly denied the opportunity to comment on an allegation of falsified English language qualifications. So held the High Court in R (on the application of Tazeem) v Secretary of State for the Home De ...

The Home Office is increasingly treating asylum claims as being withdrawn. This seems to be a new policy intended to reduce the asylum backlog. The number of asylum decisions made by the Home Office at first glance appears to be increasing. When we lo ...

Two new Upper Tribunal cases emphasise the importance of the parties to an immigration appeal identifying and addressing all the issues in dispute. Both the cases were decided by a panel that included Mr Justice Dove, the President of the Upper Tribun ...

A would-be student stopped on arrival in the UK was wrongly denied a solicitor in interview, the High Court has found in R (on the application of Kumar) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1741 (Admin). The facts Mr Kumar arrived ...

The OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) has again amended its guidance note on advisers conducting litigation in judicial review cases. The amendment appears to be with immediate effect, although the online version of the practice ...

How should we seek to comply with the rules relating to foreign language witness statements in litigation that are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, including judicial review proceedings in the Administrative Court, and civil actions in the Kings ...

The common travel area enables passport-free and legal travel between the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands for British and Irish citizens and migrants with lawful status. Onc ...

On 1 December 2020, the Grounds for Refusal in Part 9 of the immigration rules were amended, providing the Home Office with a wider scope to refuse permission applications and cancel existing permission. They include stricter mandatory grounds of refu ...

Immigration lawyers will occasionally, or in some cases frequently, take on a client whose level of English is limited. Or they may not speak any English at all. It’s crucial that lawyers understand their instructions and that clients understand the ...

The Home Office is not beloved as an institution. Some consider it necessary. But no-one likes it. That seems to include not just migrants and their families but also many of the civil servants at the Home Office itself, the lawyers and judges who int ...

A person who lacks the requisite mental capacity to litigate in the tribunal or courts requires what is called a ‘litigation friend’ to conduct proceedings on their behalf. The role of a litigation friend is crucial in ensuring that indivi ...

Let’s say you made a normal application for settlement on the UK Ancestry route five months ago and you are still waiting for a decision. You receive word that a family member abroad is sick and you need to travel home urgently. There’s no option ...

In a change to which some of us may struggle to adjust, tribunal judges are now to be addressed in court or correspondence as “judge” rather than “sir”, “madam” or (cringe) “ma’am”. So say the Lord ...

Regular readers of Free Movement will be aware of the recent judgment finding serious breaches of the duty of candour by the Home Office in the mobile phone seizures case. Jed Pennington has discussed the judgment in a previous post. But, what is the ...

For immigration lawyers, a First-tier Tribunal appeal hearing is a routine experience. It’s easy to forget how intimidating and stressful this moment can be for people appealing, many of whom have never set foot in a courtroom in their lives and who ...

The outcome of an asylum case can sometimes depend not on what the individual person says happened to them but on the general situation in a particular country. The general situation for asylum seekers from several countries is determined by the Upper ...

The Home Office has agreed to review its policy Fee waiver: Human Rights-based and other specified applications, which provides guidance on the time limits for making human rights based immigration applications where an application is made after a fee ...

You’ve left extending your visa until the last minute and are now in danger of missing the deadline. Does this matter and is there anything you can do about it? The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. Fortunately, in most cases, th ...

When the pandemic first hit in March 2020 the Home Office was quick off the mark in allowing employers to conduct right to work checks remotely. Rather than having to meet job applicants and employees needing to renew their status in person, they were ...

Our anonymous contributor considers the non-availability of legal aid in the context of a recent Afghan case, and what the future holds for legally aided immigration advice. Sara was in Kabul when the Taliban entered the city. Her husband, Hassan, a B ...

In Joseph (permission to appeal requirements) [2022] UKUT 00218 (IAC), the appellant was a national of Trinidad and Tobago who had resided in the UK since 2007. She had a costs order of £400 made against her in 2014, following an unsuccessful judicia ...

Earlier this month, the Home Office announced the abolition of the Police Registration Scheme. The scheme required certain foreign nationals to register with the police and keep them updated about important changes to their personal details. The aboli ...

When the footballer Mario Balotelli’s house was on fire, the first person he called was his agent. Who, quite predictably, told him to phone the fire brigade. As an immigration lawyer I have received less dramatic phone calls. Yet the story reson ...

There is no right of appeal against a refusal by the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) to set aside a decision disposing of proceedings. So held the Court of Appeal in DJ (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWC ...

Raising misconduct by or within your employer is a brave and difficult step. You put your financial security, your career and your well-being at risk for the greater good. Often the rewards are nil, if not negative. For migrants there is the additiona ...

How do you persuade a Home Office caseworker to grant your client’s asylum or immigration application? Or persuade a judge to allow your client’s appeal? The answer is: advocacy. Advocacy – whether written or oral – is the art of persuasion. I ...

Immigration applications are extremely expensive. Most requests for permission to stay in the UK (other than under the Points Based Immigration System) now cost £1,048. In addition, applicants may need to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge (£624 a ...

The Home Office has published guidance on fee waivers for entry clearance applications (in other words, when it is possible to get a visa for free). This is important as the fees are set at a level that is prohibitive for many families. The waiver app ...